Santa Cruz' Chris Rene has another rocking night at Catalyst

Santa Cruz singer-songwriter Chris Rene performed at the Catalyst Sunday night for another sold-out concert.

The hip hop show was packed with a whole lot of Rene family talent, including vocals from his younger sister, Gina Rene, and drum beats from his older brother, Mike Rene.

Chris Rene, 29, was working as a garbage collector when he was thrown into a national spotlight on "The X-Factor" talent show. His gripping "X-Factor" audition resonated with fans and went viral on YouTube with 25 million views.

On Sunday, Chris Rene performed several self-composed songs from his newest album, "I'm Right Here," as well as songs slated to be released on his next album this fall.

The concert included a somber moment when the musician paid tribute to his late friend, Pauly Silva. Silva was slain earlier this month just a few blocks away from the Catalyst outside the Red Room bar. No suspects have been charged in connection to the deadly shooting.

In addition to the Catalyst's security team, Santa Cruz police officers were stationed at the concert for extra safety because of Silva's death.

The night went off without a hitch and raised money for a local nonprofit, Grind Out Hunger, and Janus of Santa Cruz, a drug rehab center where Chris Rene overcame drug and alcohol addictions.

Grind Out Hunger founder Danny Keith teamed up with Chris Rene to raise money and awareness about children living in poverty. The charity's mission is to end childhood hunger and malnutrition across the U.S.

"Chris always puts on a good show. He always has a ton of energy," Keith said Monday. "It's nice he remembers how to keep connected to his community and give back. He's not just doing shows for himself. This is another benefit show to feed kids and help people get sober. Those are two things close to his heart."

Sure Thing Productions lined up hype man Ghambit to keep the crowd's energy high, while local tattoo artist Skan Arts completed a live painting and DJ Tone Sol kept the pulse of the crowd on point.

Forty years ago, one of the greatest boxing matches in history took place in an unlikely setting: the capital of the Philippines. Muhammad Ali's epic win over great rival Joe Frazier in 1975 became known as the "Thrilla in Manila."